


let your heart be light

by hilarycantdraw



Series: I love you, ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard? [2]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, Gen, Holidays, discussion of Jack's overdose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-18 16:20:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21930298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hilarycantdraw/pseuds/hilarycantdraw
Summary: Alicia Zimmermann didn’t enjoy being skeptical about her son’s new boyfriend (was he even Jack’s boyfriend? Jack certainly had avoided the word.) but Jack didn’t have the best dating history. For him to suddenly find a guy he seemed to really like so soon after publicly coming out, and to insistently brand the relationship as casual, she couldn’t help her worry.(a fic from Alicia's perspective covering the Christmas scenes in "breakable heaven")
Relationships: Alicia Zimmermann/Bob Zimmermann, Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann
Series: I love you, ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard? [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1579330
Comments: 12
Kudos: 292





	let your heart be light

**Author's Note:**

> So I didn't plan to write a Christmas based fic from Alicia Zimmermann's POV, but here we are.
> 
> This fic is set within the Christmas scenes from my other fic listed in this series, breakable heaven. You don't absolutely have to have read it to get this fic, but it would probably make more sense if you do!
> 
> Also this series is going to be a series! I'm working on a third fic from Bitty's POV that covers scenes from the original fic and then is a continuation of the story. So if that's something that you want to see, subscribe so you'll know when it's posted!
> 
> And as the tags say, there is some brief reflection toward the end about Jack's overdose.

Alicia Zimmermann didn’t enjoy being skeptical about her son’s new boyfriend (was he even Jack’s boyfriend? Jack certainly had avoided the word.) but Jack didn’t have the best dating history. For him to suddenly find a guy he seemed to really like so soon after publicly coming out, and to insistently brand the relationship as casual, she couldn’t help her worry. 

Jack was a grown man, but to her he was still her baby. He was the one and only child she’d fought so hard to have and she was as protective as any mother would be. 

Handsome, rich, famous, and not particularly adept at reading people was not a great combination when it came to dating. He’d shared stories in the past of promising dates that had ended up being more interested in money or clout than in Jack as a person. Coming out had also left him feeling more vulnerable than usual, not that he’d admit it, but she’d picked it up during their weekly phone calls. As far as Alicia was concerned, her worry was justified.

“Alicia, we need to trust him. I’m sure this boy is a perfectly fine person,” Bobby said for the tenth time since they’d boarded the plane. 

“Perfectly fine isn’t good enough for Jack,” she replied, glaring at him. “I know the casual dating thing couldn’t have been his idea. When have you ever know our son to do anything casually?”

Bob tilted his head, acquiescing to her point, “Maybe it’s for the best, though. Getting too obsessive over things hasn’t always served him well, having some fun and dating around might be good for him.”

“Hm,” Alicia huffed, “it still doesn’t seem like Jack.”

“Darling, I know,” Bob said, squeezing her knee. “But this is the first person Jack’s actually introduced us to in years. He’ll be heartbroken if we’re not supportive. I’m not saying we sit idly by if there are red flags when we meet Eric, I’m just saying we should be optimistic until we have an actual reason not to be.”

Alicia stopped herself from rolling her eyes, “I will be nothing but supportive of this relationship to Jack’s face unless I’m given a reason not to be. That’s why I need to get this out now.”

“He’ll notice if you’ve got your ice queen act on,” Bob said, his voice taking on a placating tone.

“Don’t worry about it, Bobby,” she said, waving a hand. “We know I can act. I have won a Golden Globe after all.” Alicia maintained the haughty facade for only a few seconds before they both broke out laughing. More seriously, she said, “I promise I’ll be nothing but welcoming when we meet Eric.”

* * *

Jack had wanted to pick them up at the airport, but they’d insisted on renting a car since they weren’t staying with him. That gave Alicia and Bob time to freshen up, and have a last minute bout of worry in Alicia’s case, before heading over.

When they arrived at Jack’s he seemed genuinely happy to see him. It was always a relief each time they got a warm greeting from their son after his surly, angsty teen and young adult years.

“I’m so glad you were able to come,” Jack said as he led them to the living room and offered to get them drinks.

“Of course, baby, where else would we spend Christmas?” Alicia said, wrapping an arm around Jack as he sat next to her on the couch.

“So what time is Eric getting here?” Bob asked, settling into the chair next to them.

“I’m not exactly sure,” Jack said and Alicia had to narrow her eyes at that. Who wouldn’t be able to commit to a time to arrive on Christmas Eve when meeting his boyfriend’s (not-boyfriend’s?) parents? 

But Jack continued, “He still had to work a full day and neither of us are sure how bad traffic will be with the holiday. He didn’t want to commit to a time then be late, so we kept it open-ended.”

And okay, that was more understandable Alicia admitted to herself. Maybe Bob was right and she needed to be more open-minded.

* * *

Eric arrived a few hours later in a flurry of apologies for having gotten stuck at work then slowed down by traffic. His voice had the lilting southern accent that was familiar from the video he’d made with Jack, but he was even shorter than she’d expected. Alicia looked at his stature and blond hair and tried not to think about how her son definitely had a type.

As Jack introduced him, Eric seemed to be radiating nerves. He stumbled over his words introducing himself to Bob, and then blushed so red that Alicia couldn’t help but give him a hug as she introduced herself. Skeptical as she may have been, she never liked to have anyone feel uncomfortable in her presence. 

After getting over his nervousness Eric settled into chatting and sharing stories easily from where he was sitting on the couch, tucked under Jack’s arm.

To Alicia’s chagrin, she quickly found herself charmed by him. He was bright, funny, and obviously outgoing. It was easy to see what drew Jack to him. Whenever there was a lull in conversation, he deftly filled it, yet he was never overbearing. Each time anyone else made a move to speak, he immediately gave his full attention. He balanced out Jack’s quieter nature well.

Whenever Jack was speaking, Eric watched him with adoration on his face. There was nothing fake about it when he laughed at Jack’s terrible jokes or listened raptly to one of Jack’s rambling anecdotes. Alicia loved her son, but she knew that he could be painfully awkward and that very few people fully understood his dry humor or his passion for topics others wouldn’t find interesting. 

Jack was just as attentive toward Eric. His blue eyes were bright as he looked down at the other man and there was a small smile on his face as he watched Eric speak. Alicia would be willing to bet that Jack didn’t even realize he was smiling.

As she watched Eric double over with genuine laughter as Jack told a story about the evil geese who lived at the Reservoir near BC’s campus, Alicia knew that Jack had found something special in Eric. And Eric was clearly head-over-heels for Jack. Now the question was, why on earth weren’t they making it official?

She made eye contact with Bob and she knew he was thinking the same thing. They’d have to get to the bottom of this “casual” thing before they went home.

* * *

“We can’t interrogate them on Christmas,” Bob said later, when they were getting ready for bed in their hotel room. Alicia was going to protest, but then he said, “Let’s wait until boxing day then divide and conquer. I’ll get Jack during our run and you can talk to Eric while he makes breakfast.”

“I knew there was a reason I married you,” Alicia said, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek as they climbed into bed.

Bob scoffed, “I thought you married me for my hot body.”

“I’m going to sleep now,” Alicia said, but she was laughing.

* * *

  
“So tell me about how you and Jack met,” Alicia said as she and Eric stood in Jack’s kitchen the day after Christmas. “He’s told me his version, of course, but we both know he always skimps on the details.”

Alicia had kept to her and Bob’s plan, had held her tongue as Jack and Eric had spent the entirety of Christmas day mooning over each other. It had been a lovely day, Eric had cooked a beautiful meal and she bonded with him more over their shared alma mater, but entirely uneventful on the reconnaissance mission front.

“Oh, well, have you seen the video we did for BA?” Eric asks as he starts bustling around Jack’s kitchen. She’d noticed yesterday that he moved around Jack’s kitchen as though he belonged there, and it was even more striking today. Even in Jack’s absence he just  _ fit  _ into Jack’s space. 

Alicia nodded, perching on one of the stools at Jack’s counter, and Eric continued. “So I wasn’t supposed to be in that at all. It’s Carla’s series and she’s based in the New York BA office but they’d decided to film it in Boston because of Jack’s schedule and because the Boston branch is still new and a lot of the regular viewers are still warming up to it.” 

As Eric spoke, he’d prepared two cups of coffee and handed one to her. She’d only known him two days and he had the amount of cream and sugar exactly right. That wasn’t something she could focus on, as Eric was still speaking, “Something happened that day though that kept her from leaving New York and I was asked to step in at the last minute. I’ve done vlog tutorials for years and apparently my ‘jock backstory’ meant I was less likely to be intimidated by Jack?” 

Eric shrugged and shook his head ruefully, “That wasn’t true, though.” He moved to rummage through the fridge, “I was so nervous. It was my first big video and I follow hockey. I’d played against Jack before. I knew exactly how intimidating he could be.” 

Returning to the counter facing her, Eric began cracking eggs and mixing them with milk and spices in a large metal bowl. His face relaxed into a smile as he said, “But then he arrived and he was nervous too, so I kinda pushed down my own nerves and made it seem like I totally knew what I was doing. It wasn’t too hard, though, once we actually started talking. He was so much funnier than I’d expected, he kept chirping me the whole time.” Alicia raised her brows at that. She wasn’t sure she’d ever heard anyone describe Jack as  _ funny _ before.

Eric left the bowl on the counter near her and moved to the stove, grabbing a loaf of bread on his way. “I had so much fun filming with him that I invited him to stick around to have some pie and we talked some more and then he asked me to dinner that night.” 

“I was shocked,” he turned back toward her, looking as though he still couldn't quite believe his luck. “Here’s this charming, attractive pro hockey player and he’s asking  _ me  _ out? But it’s not like I was gonna say no! So I met him for dinner and it was… a really nice night.” Eric ended his story and turned back toward the stove, but not quickly enough that she didn’t catch his fierce blush. It wan’t hard to extrapolate from there exactly what had happened that night.

“But you’re still keeping things casual?” Alicia asked, sipping her coffee. She could see Eric’s shoulders tighten.

“Well, Jack’s so busy you know?” His voice was higher than it had been before, “Always traveling. And I’ve been kinda swamped with work too. It just seemed to make sense not to put too much pressure on something so new.” The brightness in Eric’s voice seemed distinctly false. Alicia had been a part of Hollywood long enough to see straight through such poor acting.

Having had enough tiptoeing around, Alicia asked, “Is that what you want, though?”

“I- it’s fine. I’m happy.” Eric turned toward her again with a determined look, like he could convince himself that was true.

Alicia sighed and they were both silent for a moment as Eric moved back to the counter across from her and turned his concentration to soaking bread sliced in an egg mixture he’d made.

Finally Alicia said, “You know, I’ve never heard my son talk about anyone the way he talks about you.” Hoping that might be a reassurance to Eric.

Instead of Eric lighting back up, though, his face fell before he quickly plastered on a more neutral expression, “That’s- that’s nice.” He turned his focus toward what he was making, his expression settling into something morose.

Suddenly Alicia understood exactly what was going on. 

Jack, her precious son and the light of her life, had always been particularly dense when it came to deciphering emotions, his own and others’. Alicia could tell that he was enamored with Eric, but she was his mother and Eric had only known him for a few months. It seemed that he might also be a bit too preoccupied with his own insecurities to see through the layers of Jack’s feelings. Eric was still young and had made allusions to a less-than-accepting upbringing a few times. 

Having unexpectedly caught the attention of someone like Jack probably seemed too good to be true, even though that was so far from the reality of the situation. It was as if Eric couldn’t see just how worthy he was, or how much Jack liked him.

Alicia decided then that she wasn’t going to push any further. The last thing she wanted was to accidentally push Eric away from Jack by dredging up those insecurities and she didn’t know Eric well enough to know if she’d already overstepped. 

All Alicia could hope was that Bob would be more successful at talking Jack into pulling his head out of his ass. 

“So, tell me more about your latest baking projects,” Alicia said, hoping the subject change would clear the suddenly somber atmosphere.

It worked. Eric immediately brightened back up, chattering about different types of pie crust and fruit fillings. It was possible that Eric was even better than Jack at repressing his emotions. Heaven help the two of them if that was truly the case.

* * *

“How’d your talk with Jack go?” Alicia had followed Bob into the guest bathroom where he was showering after his run.

“He really has feelings for Eric. I think I might’ve convinced him to lock it down, as the kids say,” Bob said over the noise of the shower. “How was your talk with Eric?”

Alicia sat on the closed toilet seat with a sigh, “I think he’s just scared, Bobby. We know he doesn’t have anything to worry about with Jack, but to him Jack’s just an older incredibly successful man who feels out of his league. I don’t blame him for trying to protect himself, but I wish he and Jack would just sit down and talk it out.”

“You know,” Bob said, turning the shower off, “I think if they figure it out, he might be it for Jack.”

Alicia handed him a towel and though for a minute. Even though Jack had only been with Eric for a few months, her husband had a point. In that few months, Jack already seemed comfortable with Eric. He seemed happy. Plus Eric came across as kind in a genuine way that few people were.

“Well, he could do much worse. I think Eric’s good for him.

“I think so too,” Bob said with a smile.

* * *

When they returned to the kitchen, they found Jack standing next to Eric, helping him plate the finished food. They orbited each other in a comfortable way that made Alicia think they must have cooked together like this several times before. 

Jack said something quiet that made Eric laugh and touch his arm. Then Jack leaned down and kissed him, just a sweet peck, and it left them both with matching rosy blushes. Neither seemed to notice Bob and Alicia’s return and Alicia was content to leave them in their warm affectionate bubble for a few minutes longer.

Alicia still had regular nightmares about the long minutes she’d spent sitting in a hospital waiting room thinking her son was dead. 

So it took her breath away to see him like this, a grown man radiating quiet contentment. This was something she almost hadn’t gotten to have. If the ambulance had been a few minutes slower, if no one had been able to tell the doctors exactly what Jack had taken, she never would have been able to meet this version of him. She could have missed watching him blossom into this amazing man with an incredible career who had built his own life and finally accepted himself. The thought of everything she’d nearly lost, all of this that Jack could have missed out on, brought tears to her eyes. 

“You okay?” Bob asked quietly, wrapping an arm around her waist. 

She leaned into his side and said, “Look at him, Bobby.” Her voice shook slightly, “I’m just so proud of him and so happy to be here.” Alicia knew he’d know exactly what she was thinking. 

Bob looked a little watery too as he leaned over to kiss her. “I know, but he’s here and we’re here and we’re so lucky.”

It was then that Jack noticed them and came over to usher them to the table. He and Eric brough over plates full of the best french toast that Alicia had ever eaten and Jack began to tell the story about the brunch where he’d first met Eric’s friends.

For just a moment Alicia let her son’s happy voice wash over her, stopped worrying, and let herself enjoy the moment.

**Author's Note:**

> And of course, Alicia was thrilled when just over a week later Jack called and let her know Eric was officially his boyfriend!


End file.
